Yr. Weekend, Pt. 1: Beach House (Reviewed!/Sold Out!) + Small Sounds + Pant Factory (Reviewed!) + Rosie Flores Cancels + More

Damn, damn, damn. Well, I did have this grand plan of getting a bit of an early jump on the week’s/weekend’s shows, but sadly, other stuff intervened. And now, sadly, I am reduced to the grinding-it-out, day-by-day mess I typically end up doing. I need a time machine. Anybody got one I could borrow?

Anyway…there’s plenty of good stuff going on tonight, Friday, April 23rd, but first, a little bit of show-related news. Got word recently that rockabilly/country gal Rosie Flores has had to cancel her May 1st show here at the NiaMoves Listening Room — apparently she was in Chicago a week or so ago, about to go running with The Mekons’ Jon Langford, when she fell and broke her left arm.

It was a nasty break, we’re told, and while she is planning to get out on the road again soon, she is (like a lot of musicians) without any kind of health insurance, and medicine, unfortunately, is pretty expensive these days. Some kind folks are trying to raise money to help cover the costs of the medical care, so if you’re up for that, head on over here and do the ChipIn thing.

Beyond that, astute observers of the shows list might notice that, well, shit’s been bouncing around all over the place. The Onstage Events folks have indeed parted ways with Wired Live (aka The Meridian), but since the original shift of a bunch of Wired Live shows over to their new venue, The Warsaw (aka The Engine Room, long may she sail), some of the shows — the Obituary/Weight of Respect gig and the Deadbolt/Poor Dumb Bastards gig, in particular — have moved a second time. The former will now be at Numbers, while the latter’s a joint deal with D’netta Jet Setta and will be at Rudz. Got it? Good.

We’ve got a couple of new reviews up, btw, of the oh-so-timely variety — there’s a review of Beach House‘s Teen Dream, from a month or two ago, written up by Chris Galis, as well as a review of local guys The Pant Factory‘s Omnigatherum, from back when they were The Ultra Siberian Pant Factory. Check ’em out here and here, respectively. Now, with that out of the way, here’s what looks good for tonight:

Beach House/Washed Out @ Walter’s
The biggie of the evening, by far, but be warned: I’ve heard reports that this has been sold out for a day or so already. Dang. But hey, if you want to roll the dice & see if the Door Gods smile upon you, it’s bound to be pretty well worth it — I’ve been liking Beach House‘s Teen Dream so far, with its drift-y, sleepy jangle and Band of Horses-esque vocals, so I’d recommend ’em, for sure. (Apparently I’m not the only one — per their Myspace, the next week of their tour is all sold out. Wow.) Don’t know Washed Out at all, I’m afraid, but I’ve heard good things…

The Small Sounds/Elkhart @ Rudyard’s
I feel like I talk about The Small Sounds all the damn time, I know, but honestly, I just can’t help it. They’re currently one of the bands I most love to watch here in our fair city, and given the glut of good bands floating around these days, that’s saying something. The sweet, country-folk stuff is what I like the best — it’s hard to beat the band’s delicate touch on “Leave Virginia, Girl” or “Mothers and Daughters” — but the last time I saw ’em play, they really tore shit up on the rockers, too. And besides all that, they’re all genuinely nice, humble guys who, to a man, give off this “aw-shucks” vibe. These guys know their stuff and love to play it, simple as that. Hard to beat, in my book.

Pant Factory/ Vehement Burn/Giant Battle Monster @ Fitzgerald’s
And up at Fitz, it’s a night of spastic, weirdball prog-metal, no holds barred. Dunno Vehement Burn, but I’ve liked what I’ve heard by The Pant Factory, despite the bizarro name-switchery, and when I finally caught Giant Battle Monster at The Festival at Mink 2 a while back, I was utterly bowled over. If you’ve ever wondered what it might sound like to electrify the stage while, say, Coheed & Cambria were playing, well, GBM are pretty much that sound. Wild, weird, raw, & loud, but still compelling as hell.

From Guts To Glory/Mothers Anthem/Defying Grace/Adelaine @ The Scout Bar (Clear Lake)
Talked about this band a few times lately, too, but I’ll say it again: I’m really digging Adelaine‘s post-emo, Cruiserweight-ish sound. Yeah, I’ll admit to having a soft spot for emo bands with female vocalists (especially ones that sound like they’d smash in your car’s windows before they’d curl up and wither away in sorrow), but even with that in mind, these folks are good.

Humut-Tabal/Spectral Manifest/Sculpting Atrocity/Nemontemi/The Nephilim Terror @ Avant Garden
Whoo, boy. This one would be fun just for the spectacle — there’s little entertainment better than watching hipsters & hippies scurry when the death-metal dudes crank up the guitars. High-five to whoever booked this show at the Avant Garden, y’all…

Runners-Up:
Floorbound/This Year’s Tiger/The Banner Year/Dreaming of June/Legacy Fails @ Fitzdown
Chamillionaire/ Paul Wall @ House of Blues
Kuumba Freeque/Satin Hooks/Nonsense Music Band (CD release) @ Notsuoh
Bee vs. Moth/Chairs/Jake Swan @ Super Happy Fun Land
Cosmic Prom, featuring Moullinex, Xenobi, Damon Allen, GRRRL Parts, Angie Audio, Spinnin Kitties, & DJ Cuba Gooding Jr. @ The Mink
Hell’s Belles (AC/DC tribute)/Honky/Adrian and the Sickness/Picture Book @ The Continental Club
Jimmie Vaughan and The Tilt-A-Whirl Band @ Warehouse Live
The Big One, featuring K-Rino, The 144 Elite, Sniper and Re-Up Ent., Rapper K, Ganxsta Nip, David Sha, The South Park Coalition, & more @ Club Red Rooster (4937 MLK @ Old Spanish Trail)
2010 Texas Crawfish & Music Festival, featuring Mickey & the Motorcars, Heartless Bastards, Leroy Thomas & the Zydeco Roadrunners, Kozmic Pearl (Janis Joplin tribute), Honeybrowne, Jeff Boortz Band, Mike Stinson, Gerard Delafose Zydeco Band, & Charlie Lucas Band @ Old Town Spring (Spring)